Carl Arnold | Partner

Carl ArnoldPartner

After selling two successful companies, Carl Arnold found his passions: growing businesses and entrepreneurialism. This focus, along with his strong work ethic, led him to Advantary and working with entrepreneurs.

A born and bred businessman, Carl started his first venture at the age of 12, selling hot dogs and Coca-Cola at Cal Stadium football games. Both his father and grandfather were entrepreneurs working in the hotel and restaurant industries, so he grew up with the spirit of enterprise all around him—and has carried that spirit with him throughout his career.

Carl went on to study Hotel Restaurant Management, Business Administration, and music at the University of Denver, even touring with a band for a year before being accepted into a leadership program at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Following the program, he was recruited to join Milepost Industries, a company focused entirely on providing hospitality services to railroad employees. This would turn out to be a lasting partnership, one that would span 20 years and be defined by significant growth and expansion for both Carl and the company.

Under Carl’s leadership, Milepost expanded its breadth to include three different divisions, growing to reach $100 million in annualized revenues. Carl bought into the company early on and eventually came to own it outright. During this time, he also established the Arnold Hotel Group, a business he founded to fill a growing need for hotel accommodations for traveling flight attendants and airline pilots. Eventually, he sold both ventures—closing one of the deals in the very building in which his father based his own business many years before—and moved into consulting. Now, he splits his time between consulting and managing a small foundation that supports various local and international charities.